TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS 9/21/09

There You Go Again, Jimmy (by David E. Johnson, Human Events) Additionally, by charging racism, Democrats hope that they can shame Independent voters to prove that they are not racists by rethinking their opposition to health care. There is precedent for this -- Democrats did this in 1964 against Barry Goldwater after his vote based on constitutional grounds against the Civil Rights Act. When polls showed support for Goldwater among white Independents, Democrats ran a shame campaign to get Independents to vote Democratic to prove they were not racists.

Dems Should Focus On The Color Purple (by Charlie Cook, National Journal) I am becoming convinced, based on this and other research, that although many independent voters are disappointed in specific things that Obama has done, they still hope that he will do well and believe that he might. To be sure, red America has already given Obama the thumbs down. And blue America just wishes he would be more liberal. But it's purple America, the independents who voted for Democrats in the 2006 midterm election by an 18-point margin, that makes the biggest difference right now.

OPEN PRIMARIES

Why must we join the party? (By Anne McGraw Reeves, Patriot News) If the goal is to increase voter participation, then let everyone vote who wants to vote, whether they've signed on with a party or not. Let's open up the primaries.